I’m adding back a size in my Hug Me Slug plush toys, for anyone who likes to make slug families, with little, middle, and big kids. Those are the 7, 8, and 9 inch Hug Me Slugs above. I have 12 inch ones too, or I usually do. I am making more. I’ve had people get those as parent slugs to the smaller ones. You can find my stuffed animal slugs over in my Etsy toy shop. Some of these have been adopted already, but I still have some available there at the moment.

These two 7 inch yellow Hug Me Slugs went out as gifts. They were named after their Girl Scout counterparts. One was called “Candy Corn” and needed a candy corn heart. I painted the heart with fabric dye. Since she was for a big kid, it was okay. Babies put my slugs in their mouths, and so I wouldn’t do that for a baby, to be safe.

I had these up as Valentine’s Day slugs, but they happen to still be around for now, waiting to be adopted. They are 9 inches tall.

These three above are the 7 inch size, and you can see I am adjusting the sizes of my patterns. Oddly, the purple and the light blue are the new size, from the same version of my pattern. The light blue guy got a little chubby instead of tall. That happens. He’s already gone out as a new baby gift. Apologies for the redundancy in my photos between my blog and Facebook page. I’m behind with my blogging, as usual.

I just got through sewing 50!! of the new 7 inch slug bodies. Next up, they get stuffed, and then detailed. I’m trying so hard to get restocked, but it takes so long. I machine sew the first seam, and then it is all hand sewing from there. That seems crazy sometimes, but I prefer the way it looks. I’ve never been happy with machine-sewn details. I think the hand sewing gives them more character, makes them seem friendlier, and is more personal.

It gets overwhelming at times, trying to get toys finished in any number. We’ve also been running to doctors’ appointments and more eye surgeries here, and doing rounds of eye drops, which I kept having to get up early to do for my dad. We’ll be starting more for my mom. We have appointments and another surgery this week.

As you can see, I curled up in the middle of the kitty pile the other day. The weather has been cold and miserable, but I know, nothing compared to up north. I am relieved when the sun comes out. The drear is getting me down. I feel so sad sometimes. Today was at least warmer, but it went back to gray later.

Santana, our neighbor-cat, finally accepted my invitation to nap in Mr Bear’s house. It has been unused for a year almost. Mr Bear would have wanted his friends to have it. I told Santana this, and he seemed to understand. I put a catnip pouch in there for him, and recycled a few more for the porch.

Zellla is a Siamese kitten with an earnest little face and vibrant blue eyes.

Lost in her daydreamer’s world, Zella loves to sit in her high-backed rocking chair and let her imagination flow.

She thinks of all the exciting kitten games there are to play today, and wonders if the day will be long enough to play them all.

She dreams of how one day she will be tall and elegant and full of grace.

Zella is wearing a pale ivory dress that has country blue flowers with gold centers.

It has a gold scalloped neckline and blue cuffs edged in gold.

Zella is a one-of-a-kind work of art, and is meant for display only. She was sculpted from paperclay in multiple stages, to allow for drying and detailing.

Zella was painted under a magnifying light, with tiny brushes, one hair at a time. She is signed and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Zella is 1:12 scale. (One inch equals one foot.) She is 1 and 5/8 inches tall, not including her ears.